


Ladybug

by GrayToneSkies



Category: Etrian Odyssey Series
Genre: Backstory, Burns, Character Experiment, Fluff and Angst, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Male/Male Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 18:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5794597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrayToneSkies/pseuds/GrayToneSkies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Catrin loved nothing more than protecting the village's only child. She did her job, and she did it well, even when there was no village to be a child of anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ladybug

**Author's Note:**

> Experimenting is happening right now. Personality experiments. Background experiments. This is all an experiment.

"How can you possibly enjoy that?" Rema asked with her brow furrowed, "Dexen's just a stupid little baby."

Catrin looked up at her, "It's a privilege, not a chore. Now, say it again and you'll spend your day looking for your teeth."

Rema put her hands up in surrender, then walked away. Catrin returned to paying attention to the five year old on her lap. It was a sight many of the adults found to be sweet, the teenage girl teaching Dexen to put together a flower crown out of daisies that grew in the meadow. The small, chubby boy would puff out his cheeks, his free hand in his dark hair, frustrated. A nudge from Catrin, and the determination in his brown eyes would flare up again. He was almost done, and when he linked the final two together, Catrin let the corners of her mouth turn up with the excited child.

"Look, Cat!" Dexen had the largest grin he could fit on his small face, "I dids it!"

She felt her normally stoic features crack a gigantic smile, "You did."

Dexen paused, looking at her mouth. He furrowed his brow, covering his mouth with his hand in an attempt to look serious. The boy was staring with such intense focus that it was making Catrin confused. What was he staring at? Did she have something stuck in her teeth?

Dexen let up the expression for a smile again, "You look better with a smile."

"Oh," She widened her eyes a bit, then smiled again, "I should smile more?"

Dexen nodded so vigorously the giant goggles he wore fell off his head around his neck. "Exactly! I'm an alchemist, so I would know what's good for you."

"Well of course," Catrin placated him as he spoke, "You're a master of the elements, I have to listen to someone so smart."

"Not a master yet, but soon! Maybe in a week!"

Catrin laughed a little bit. The child really did practice a lot, to his parent's dismay. He had blown up a tree the day before in an attempt at using volt formula. Of course Catrin came to his tiny rescue, but his mother was so upset with him about that. She took a deep breath and stopped smiling. She could smell the heaviness of smoke in the air, but she couldn't see where it was coming from through the trees.

_Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home..._

"That smells like the time I tried to use fire alchemy on the stove." Dexen muttered, but his brow was furrowed and eyes wide.

Catrin said, "Come on, let's go. You may be good at starting fires, but you're also good at putting them out."

"Right!" He let the teenage girl pick him up and carry him. Being in the young survivalist's arms was like flying as she ran, swift and without a falter.

The girl's golden and bark colored hair was in her face as she slid through the trees, setting Dexen down once they were in sight of the village. Dexen had his eyes wide, shuddering faintly as if he were terrified. The girl started to make her way out of the trees, but a pair of arms wrapped around her legs as she moved toward the village, which was on fire.

"Someone started it on purpose, Cat," He whispered, "Someone did it on purpose!"

Catrin stopped cold. She looked back at the boy, who looked at her with pleading eyes, as if to warn her that something wasn't right. Her fingers petted his head, and she glared out into the blaze. Who would be an arsonist? A tall figure sprinted towards them with the grace only a survivalist would have. 

Catrin's father grabbed her shoulders when he finally got to her, "Take Dexen and run; that's an order!" 

"Dad? What's going on?!" She then demanded, but she did reach down and pick up the child in her arms, holding him tight.

The brunet man's hair was mussed and coated in ash, "Promise me you won't stop for anything until you get to the next village, warn them, and then keep going until you reach a city that can protect you."

"From what? Dad, stop confusing me-"

"Raiders. Now go!"

The words sent chills down her spine, and she turned and ran away as quickly as she could. Dexen's voice reached her ears in muffled tones, the entire world becoming nothing more than a blur and a series of thoughts on protecting the child in her arms. The nearest city was High Lagaard, but could she really run all the way there? It was normally a three day walk between the next village and the city. After a moment, she decided she would do it if it killed her. Dexen had to survive, if nothing else.

_... Your house is on fire, your children will burn..._

Her heartbeat was the only lullaby Dexen could hear as the Eastern child stared off behind them. He saw Catrin's father fighting behind them, a large blade running through his chest and- Dexen gave a choked whine as Catrin turned him around so he didn't have to see it anymore. He couldn't understand what was happening anymore, why had things become so out of the ordinary? His hands shook, and he felt tears in his eyes. The clatter of hooves make him sob and cringe, though he didn't know why. Horses weren't scary, but for some reason, they made him want to cry now. Catrin's eyes were flickering in every direction, wild and filled with fear, her normal calmness failing to show itself. That just made Dexen feel his tears start running down his face. If he couldn't have his protector and best friend be calm, how was he supposed to be?

"Cat," He whimpered, "Someone's coming, I'm scared!"

She whispered, "I know."

She placed him in the roots of a tree, and he crawled underneath it, not checking to see if there was something already living there. By luck, it was empty. Catrin drew her bow and arrow, eyes focused on a man on a horse. He looked like some sort of psycho to the five year old, with filthy hair that was ratted and tangled, a smirk on his lips, and a fist on a glaring sword.

"Well, looks like I found a straggler," He said, ignoring the fact that Catrin had an arrow aimed for him.

She was frozen in place, she couldn't breathe or move because she was scared to shed blood. Not when she was so young, and not in front of innocent Dexen. He was silently sobbing in the hollowed area beneath the roots.

The man tapped his horse on the sides and moved a bit closer, "Maybe ye and I could work out a little deal, sweetheart? You are cute. I could make ye my wife..."

"I-I..." She couldn't even make a sassy remark to that. She was shaking too much. 

_... except for the little one whose name is Ann..._

Dexen remembered that he could do alchemy. He could protect her. He narrowed his eyes, pulling his hands together in prayer, whispering the spell so softly the raider couldn't have heard it. He could feel energy welling up inside of him, radiating cold. His eyes softly began to glow blue as he spoke, and when he looked up, the man was too close to Catrin, was reaching for her, and her bow and arrow were on the ground. She was frightened out of her wits, and Dexen just could stand for that. He leapt out of hiding and gave the shout. 

"Ice formula!" 

The raider looked over just as a wave of ice slammed into his body and threw him from his mount. The horse, startled, turned and trampled the man's body as it ran away. It had stepped directly in the middle of his chest. The man coughed up dark blood for a moment, then shakily tried to get up despite the powerful elemental strike and the pains that had to come from his chest. Catrin pulled Dexen behind her, shielding his eyes as she drew her bow and put an arrow into his chest. The thirteen year old girl's blue eyes were filled with hatred. This man didn't deserve a swift death... 

She ushered him away and lifted Dexen up when they were away from the dead or dying man. "Come on, we have to go." 

"Cat?" He asked, "Did he hurt you?" 

"No, now keep quiet and close your eyes." 

He did exactly as he was told. He let himself close his eyes and keep the sights out of his eyes. Her warm arms comforted him, tight enough to soothe but not suffocate him. Dexen looked out over her shoulder, noticing the fact that the smoke was billowinf into the sky. It looked terrifying to him, yet he couldn't help but think of his alchemy... 

... About how to recreate it.

Catrin whispered, "Dexen, don't say anything. I'm going to steal a horse from one of these raiders. Close your eyes, look away, don't do anything that could draw attention to yourself."

Silence was all he gave her. Of course it was what he gave, because she told him not to draw any attention to himself. He would look away. He would do anything she asked of him.

"Good kid," She muttered before darting off into a camp only a few feet in front of them.

Catrin dropped into the underbrush, knowing she would have to take out the entire group of raiders if she was going to steal a horse. Her eyes examined who she was fighting against: three landsknechts, one hexer, and a gunner who was looking particularly upset and afraid, whose hands were tied. He was just a hostage. She'd set him free and rearm him, and perhaps he would help her. Besides, the gunner couldn't be older than ten, judging from his baby face. To leave someone so young to die would be wrong.

Shimmying through the tall grass toward the edge, she saw his gun- a basic fire gun, nothing special, but it was his- laying on a table within arm's reach. She looked around, observing how each of the real threats were moving, and she eyed the hexer with a slight hesitance. Could he sense her presence or hear her thoughts? If he hadn't turned around yet, most likely not, but she would pick him off first for that reason alone. She reached out and slowly pulled the firearm toward herself until it was with her in the brush.

The gunner was obviously afraid of his captors, she noted, but he was attempting to gnaw his way through the ropes. They looked frayed, and when he pulled away he had small chunks of rope in his teeth that he spat out. She slid of behind him, and grabbed her survival knife.

"Need a hand?" She whispered, "I can cut those ropes. I have your gun, too. All you have to do is help me kill these raiders and steal a horse."

The boy looked back at her, and she hadn't noticed before, but tears were streaking down his grimy face and leaving trails of cleaner skin. He gave a shaky smile, "I'll steal one for me too, if that's okay..."

"As long as there's one for me and my 'little brother'," She murmured, knowing that Dexen wasn't her brother by blood. 

The boy glared ar the hexer for a second, letting the girl cut his ropes. "The hexer's the problem. We have to kill him before he realizes we're escaping."

"Exactly. Name?"

"Oberon. You?"

"Catrin." 

As soon as his ropes were cut through, he took the gun and snuck up behind the hexer. He must have been lost deep in thought to not notice Oberon's shadow mingling with his, but Catrin didn't complain. Oberon placed the barrel right behind his head- he couldn't afford to miss right now, not this time- and pulled the trigger. Red splattered his face, and a chunk of something got into his hair. It was soft as squishy, as shown by the way he pulled it out of his hair and squished it before throwing it aside. There were chunks of a similar material across the area before Catrin realized it was his brains. She swallowed and turned to assassinate the landsknechts.

"Adriel?!" The female landsknecht yelled as she saw the hexer laying there, and she entirely ignored them as she moved toward the dead hexer. "No, no! Babe, wake up!"

Catrin picked off the other landsknecht with an arrow in his head. Oberon put the gun to the back of the grieving landsknecht's head, and she looked back to face him. Her knotted hair no longer made her look fiersome, but pathetic and sad. She looked at the gunner with guilt and sadness, but no sense of anger or blame. She understood the rules of survival too well to be upset with him. 

"Send me to my husband's side." She muttered. 

Oberon looked at Catrin, who nodded, and he said, "Okay. Tell him I'm sorry and that I only did what I had to."

"He'll understand..." She said. 

Catrin turned away and began looking for horses. There were, by luck of the draw, two horses. Most likely the landsknecht she had picked off before and the other were also in love-

She hadn't killed the other one yet.

Before she could react, the landsknecht leapt out from behind a tree, jabbing his torch directly into her face. A searing sensation burst across her mouth and left cheek, and she screamed before imbeddibg her knife into her attacker's stomach. He dropped the torch and went for his sword, but a gunshot interrupted him. It didn't hit, but it did startle him, and Catrin put an arrow between his eyes.

"Damn," Oberon muttered, then examined her face, "I think you need medical help for that one."

"I'll be okay." She hissed, then called, "Dexen, it's safe to come out now."

She pulled the scarf around her neck to protect him from the sight, but it wasn't stopping the tears from sliding down her face. The horses were calm enough for her liking, and when Dexen came over, she picked him up and mounted one of them. Oberon climbed onto his as well, and they took off at a canter.

"Plan?" Oberon asked.

Catrin didn't respond, her face in pain. Dexen spoke for her, "To High Lagaard we go."

She was surprised when a cool sensation started to soothe her blistering cheek. She glanced at Dexen, who had his brown eyes glowing blue instead, his arms glowing the same way. Ice arms, she remembered, allowed him to wrap his arms in ice without hurting himself. He was using it to cool her painful burn, though he couldn't see it. 

"Good kid," She whispered as she rode on, not wanting to stop for anything, "I promise I'll protect you."

\--- --- --- --- ---

"Hey guys! Hurry it up!"

Dexen's voice sounded firm but playful. He was no born leader, but she would follow his lead the way her whole guild did. Kure was loading up his seven shot pistol- "It's essential to have an odd number of bullets, so you don't go overestimating your six shots. Plenty of fools made that mistake."- while she and Soren were checking over their gear. Feliz was simply staring off into space like a hexer would, though the awkward problem with that was the fact that he was a protector.

"Hurry up..." The alchemist moaned out, bending at the waist and putting his hands on his knees, "Slowpokes..."

Kure said, "Instead of whining, maybe you shoulf take advantage of us stopping here to rest. You use a lot of energy during alchemy, therefore you must be exhausted."

"I guess so, but that's boring..." The alchemist sighed and let his form sag. He could be a bit of a pain, but she loved him anyways.

Catrin said, "Go ask Feliz to teach you to use a shield."

"Oh! Feliz, Feliz, teach me please!" Immediately he perked up and started bothering the spacy protector. Feliz didn't even move an inch or turn to look. He didn't even blink at the alchemist.

Soren looked at her, "That was so cruel, Catrin. I don't think Feliz is even listening."

"Maybe if Feliz talked in the first place, we would know." Kure said, blunt and cold as usual.

Catrin looked around at her team. Feliz wasn't doing anything except observing a leaf in a way that suggested he was either dead or catatonic, Dexen yelling directly into his ear about teaching him to use a shield, and Kure and Soren were bickering like an old married couple. As if this was normal for the guild, because it was. They were outcasts turned explorers, and that was alright with her. They were alive and well, and that was all that mattered. They survived being thrown into the frying pan, and stepped right back in as soon as they could. Everything would be okay.

_... who hid away in a frying pan._

**Author's Note:**

> Perhaps I just felt like throwing that nursery rhyme in there for fun. Yeah, but this was a little experiment to play with my characters and their pasts to see if they fit. I'll be working with them in a fully fledged story later, but for now, experimental oneshots galore.


End file.
